Your Excellency, it is a pleasure to welcome you to Manila, to the Philippines. Thank you for accepting our invitation to visit our country. I wish you and your delegation a comfortable stay, despite the fact that it’s a very, very quick visit but I hope that we will be able to achieve a great many things.

In July of 2023, we marked the 67th anniversary of the normalization of our diplomatic relations. Our decades of cooperation have developed into a robust and Strategic Partnership built on trust, mutual respect, and common values.

I recall my very productive visit to Japan earlier this year, wherein we issued a Joint Statement highlighting the strength of our relations and identifying areas of our cooperation.

Our meeting today builds upon the momentum of the recent past and we look forward to expanding cooperation with you, especially in key areas, such as economic development, development cooperation, and security cooperation.

While we continue to enhance our bilateral relations, I am pleased that the trilateral engagements at various fronts among the Philippines, Japan, and the United States have commenced — this started this year.

I look forward to continuing this form of engagement and to expand it further to cover other equally important aspects.

I believe that the bedrock of any relationship is that of people-to-people exchanges.

And following my official visit to Japan in February 2023, we have welcomed several high-level delegations including that of the delegations from the LDP of Japan and Japan-Philippines Parliamentary Friendship League (JPPFL).

I also note the Official Parliamentary Visit of the Philippine Senate to Japan on — April of this year . I’m glad to note that officials from the other branches of our governments have likewise been committed to keeping our relationships vibrant.

As we begin our discussions, I look forward to these very meaningful exchanges.

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